Substitute for leather and method for making same.



G H. BRUCE. SUBSTITUTE FOR LEATHER AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME.

APPLICATION TIL-ED NOV- I, I9I7- 1,%79,242, Patented Sept. 17, 1918.

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SUBSTITUTE FOR LEATHER AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. BRUCE, a citizen of the United Statesof America, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Substitutes for Leather and Methods for Making Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a substitute for shoe sole and the method of making same.

Heretofore various substitutes for shoe sole leather have been "made principally from rubber or gum, or both intermixed while in a plastic state with cotton or other fiber and generally a mineral filler, the latter being used for its wearing qualities. After the mixing operation the material is first run through a grinding and pressing mill and then through a cullendering machine. The resultant sheets are then placed in a suitable press where they are subjected to a thorough vulcanization.

The foregoing product because of its wa terproof and wearing qualities has to makers of sport and other flatsoled shoes,

' the soles of which need merely be cut from or arch this material as in the manufacture of high-class shoes for women. In making such shoes from ordinary leather sole the latter is moistened and then placed in a mold until dry. When removed from the mold the leather sole will retain its shape but this result cannot'be obtained from the use of the substitute productbecause. its rubber content will not hold moisture and therefore will not mold. Furthermore if subj ected to a further vulcanization in a heated mold the substitute material will crack.

I have discovered that the hereinbefore mentioned difiiculties can be obviated in the following manner:

I intimately applya strong fiber sheet preferably paper fiber or card board to one face of the substitute soling material. llhe laminated sheet thus produced after be ng cut to sole size is placed in a mold to give the finished sole the desired arch or curva- 'cause the soling material to conform to and retain its shape after removal from the roven* to be a valuable substitute for sole eather Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept, 17, 1918. Application filed November 1, 1917. Serial No. 199,708.

mold. In some instances the soling material after vulcanization and the fiber sheet may be bufied on their contiguous faces and secured together by an adhesive substance, the whole then being placed under pressure in a suitablevulcanizing press. The applicatlon of heat and pressure cements or binds the sheets intimately together. The referred method however, is to attach the fiber sheet by means of a suitable adhesive to the soling material as the latter comes from the cullender and before curing or vulcanization of the latter. then placed in a vulcanizing press Where by the application of heat and pressure a homogeneous sheet capable of being molded into the desired shape is formed, it being understood that when heated the soling material becomes soft and sticky. By gaging the thickness and strength of the fiber sheet according to the thickness of the soling mate'- rial which it is to carry no difiiculty will be experienced in the shaping OPBI'iLlJlOIf.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoesole embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmental view thereof on an enlarged scale, suitably labeled, disclosing the constituent characteristics or features of the same.

In carrying out the shaping operation the fiber sheet may be moistened before placing the sheet together with the soling material in the mold as is customary when shaping ordinary leather soles or the moistening operation may be dispensed with. I have will ,When taken from'the'mold hold its shape and likewise carry the soling material even though placed in the mold when perfectly dry.

There are many obvious uses'to which my invention may be put and consequently I do The laminated structure is found in-actual practice that the fiber sheet .it, together with the composite sheet, inpermanently molded arched form.

l 2. As an article of manufacture,a vulcanized composite sheet containing rubber or gum or both, and cotton-fiber, and asheet of fiber superposed upon and glued to said first mentioned sheet said composite and fiber sheets being molded into arched shape, said fiber sheet being of an integrity which Will maintain it, together with the composite sheet, in permanently molded arched form.

3. The herein described method of making a substitute for leather consisting in mixing together rubber and fiber, grinding the mixture and forming it 1nto sheet form, vul- 1 canizing the sheet, and adhering a sheet of arch forming eapacityor integrity to one 15 face there0f.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

v GEORGE H. BRUCE.

Witnesses:

RONALD K. BROWN, VICTOR GERBER. 

